In a vehicle having a discrete ratio transmission, the speed of the transmission input shaft is constrained to be proportional to the vehicle speed with a finite set of ratios, except during the brief interval while the transmission is shifting from one ratio to another ratio. When the torque converter is locked, the engine speed is also constrained to be proportional to vehicle speed. In a hybrid electric vehicle having a power-split architecture, on the other hand, the transmission does not mechanically impose a strict relationship between the engine speed and the vehicle speed.
Even in vehicles with automatic transmissions, in which selection of the gear ratio or engine speed is ordinarily determined by a controller, some drivers prefer to occasionally over-ride the controller to provide operation similar to a manual transmission. Some vehicles are equipped with shift paddles or other driver interface features which permit the driver to signal a desire for a higher or a lower gear ratio relative to the gear ratio automatically selected by the vehicle controller, with an associated change in engine speed and vehicle torque. In a discrete ratio transmission, the controller responds to such a command by shifting to a different one of the discrete gear ratios, which adjusts engine speed accordingly and provides associated torque multiplication at the vehicle wheels. However, in a vehicle with a continuously variable transmission or similar gearbox, such as a power-split hybrid, the response is more complicated because the transmission does not inherently provide discrete gear ratios with associated different torque multiplication.